トウテイランはルリトラノオ属の宿根草です。葉の表面が柔らかな銀白色、花が透き通るような青紫色。花言葉は「常にあなたを想う」です。
Silver Speedwell is a perennial species of the genus Veronica. It is characterized by soft, silvery-white foliage and translucent blue-violet flowers. In the language of flowers, it conveys the message “Always thinking of you.”
【仮名】トウテイラン
【和名】洞庭藍
【英名】Silver Speedwell
【学名】Veronica ornata
【誕生】09/ 18, 10/ 11
【開花】08, 09, 10月
【花色】Purple, Violet, Blue
トウテイラン
トウテイランの概要
トウテイランはオオバコ科ルリトラノオ属の宿根草です。おもに日本海沿岸の京都府丹後半島から島根県隠岐諸島まで局在。和名は中国湖南省の湖に由来するものの、日本の自生種です。葉の表面が柔らかな銀白色、花が透き通るような青紫色…。花言葉は「常にあなたを想う」です。
トウテイランの名前
トウテイランの和名の由来は花の淡い瑠璃色が中国湖南省の洞庭湖のような透き通った藍色を思わせるから。英名シルバー・スピードウェルは「銀色の鍬形草」という意味です。属名ベロニカはキリスト教の聖女の名前に由来。種小名オルナータは「美しく飾られた」という意味です。
トウテイランの姿形
トウテイランは太い地下茎から髭根を伸ばします。茎は基部から分枝、葉は対生の長楕円形。縁に浅い鋸歯があります。茎も葉も綿毛が密生。花は穂状で下から咲き上がります。花被が４裂、雄しべ２本と雌しべ１本が突出。花後は蒴果を結び、熟すと裂けて平たい種子を散らします。
トウテイランの適応
トウテイランは日本海沿岸の荒波に削られた絶壁で自生。たくさんの根で岩をしっかりつかみ、茎と葉を綿毛で覆って塩風・強光・乾燥に耐えます。花は長期に渡って咲き上がり、雄しべと雌しべが花冠から突出。限られた好天で、少ない昆虫で、風だけで受粉できるような適応です。
Silver Speedwell
Silver Speedwell is a perennial plant in the genus Veronica (family Plantaginaceae). It is native to Japan, found primarily in localized areas along the Sea of Japan coast—from the Tango Peninsula in Kyoto Prefecture to the Oki Islands in Shimane Prefecture. Its leaves have a soft, silvery-white surface, and its flowers are a vivid, translucent blue-violet. In the language of flowers, it represents “Always thinking of you.”
The Japanese name comes from the flower’s pale lapis lazuli hue, which evokes the clear indigo waters of Lake Dongting in Hunan Province, China. The English name, “Silver Speedwell,” highlights its silvery appearance, while the genus name, Veronica, honors a Christian saint. Its specific epithet, ornata, means “beautifully adorned.”
Silver Speedwell grows fibrous roots from a thick rhizome. Its stems branch from the base, and its opposite, oblong leaves feature shallow serrations along the margins. Both stems and leaves are densely covered in fine downy hairs. The flowers bloom sequentially from the bottom up along terminal spikes. The four-lobed corolla features two stamens and a single pistil that project prominently from the center. After blooming, the plant forms capsules that split open when mature to release flat seeds.
In the wild, Silver Speedwell thrives on rugged coastal cliffs shaped by the rough waves of the Sea of Japan. Anchored firmly to the rock face by a strong root system, its downy stems and leaves protect it from salty winds, intense sunlight, and drought. Its extended blooming season and protruding stamens and pistils are key adaptations—allowing for efficient wind pollination during brief windows of clear weather, even when pollinators are scarce.
